Giannoulias touts Obama ties

First elected to office in '06, state treasurer announces run for seat once held by president

July 27, 2009|By Rick Pearson | Tribune staff reporter

First-term state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias firmly affixed his candidacy for the U.S. Senate to President Barack Obama on Sunday, contending that a new generation of leadership in the mold of the man he considers a mentor will outweigh any taint of scandal surrounding Obama's former Senate seat.

Giannoulias, 33, frequently invoked Obama in launching his bid for the Democratic Senate nomination. He portrayed the race as a choice between the politics of the future or the "tired politics that voters rejected in 2008" -- a veiled slap at a recently announced GOP contender, North Shore U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, 49.Asked by reporters whether someone with little more than two years in public office was qualified to sit as a senator, Giannoulias said, "They said the same thing about Barack Obama." Obama spent eight years in the state Senate and two years in the U.S. Senate before winning the White House.

"I don't think it's about who's held office the longest," he said. "I think it's about who's got the best ideas, who's going to move this country forward, who has a history of having an innovative principled office, someone who's going to bring some integrity back to the process so people can be proud of their United States senator."

Obama was a key ingredient in Giannoulias winning the state treasurer's office in 2006, backing the young banking heir over the state Democratic organization's slated candidate. Giannoulias had helped Obama raise seed money for the 2004 Senate race and provided Obama with connections in the city's Greek community.

Still, Giannoulias watched recently as the Obama White House unsuccessfully tried to recruit Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan as the favored Senate candidate. "I think the president and I will be just fine," said Giannoulias, a basketball buddy of Obama's.

Other Democrats are considering a run, but Republicans see opportunity in the open-seat Senate contest created after appointed Sen. Roland Burris said he would not seek election. Burris was named by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich three weeks after Blagojevich's arrest on federal corruption charges that included allegedly trying to sell the seat left vacant by Obama's November victory.

"People are disheartened and disgusted with politics, especially in Illinois, where there's a black eye in Illinois politics -- scandal and corruption and pay to play, which is why we need fresh leadership," Giannoulias said.

After Giannoulias' announcement to a couple of hundred supporters at a downtown hotel, state Republicans sought to tie him to fellow Democrat Blagojevich. They noted that his late father donated $10,000 to the disgraced former governor, that his brother was appointed to a state board by Blagojevich and that the family's Broadway Bank was involved in loans with convicted Blagojevich fundraiser and adviser Antoin "Tony" Rezko. Politically, however, the state treasurer and Blagojevich were never close.

Giannoulias' bid to tie himself to Obama may encapsulate a large share of the debate in the 2010 general election if he wins the Democratic nomination. Off-presidential-year federal elections are traditionally a measure of voter satisfaction with the White House, and just how the public perceives the state of the nation's economy and recovery efforts is expected to be a predominant theme.

Giannoulias formed an exploratory committee in March that allowed him to already raise more than $1.8 million for the Senate campaign. He touted rules that prohibited employees, banks and contractors of the treasurer's office to donate to his campaign and his refusal to accept corporate and federal lobbyist donations.

He also cited efforts on behalf of Hartmarx, the Chicago-based men's clothing manufacturer that was threatened with closing. Giannoulias vowed to pull state deposits managed by Wells Fargo, prompting the bank to continue financing the firm while a buyer was found.

But Giannoulias' tenure has not been without problems. After an overhaul of the state's college investment program, a fund tied to mortgage-backed securities tanked along with the nation's housing economy. Giannoulias is now trying to recoup $85 million.

And even before his election, Giannoulias faced scrutiny over his family bank's loans to convicted felons with alleged mob ties. Giannoulias oversaw the loans at the bank.